Vita Marcam
Standard abbreviation: Life Mark
Other titles: none
Clavis numbers: ECCA 276
Category: Apocryphal Acts
Related literature: Martyrdom of Mark; Ibn Kabar, Lamp of Darkness 24
Compiled by: Tony Burke, York University
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Life of Mark.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/life-of-mark.
Created September 2024.
1. SUMMARY
The Life of Mark is the name assigned to the story of Mark in the History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria 2.1 but also extant as an independent text (likely an excerpt). The story begins with two brothers named Aristobulus and Barnabas who live in the Pentapolis city of Cyrene. They are robbed of their wealth by neighboring Berbers and Ethiopians, so they flee to their Jewish homeland where they live near Jerusalem. Aristobulus has a son named John, surnamed Mark. Also in the family is a cousin who is married to Simon Peter; Mark would visit Peter to learn the teachings of Jesus. Named also is Mary, the mother of Mark and sister of Barnabas the disciple.
One day Aristobulus is walking with Mark at the Jordan where they meet a lion and lioness. Aristobulus tells his son to flee but Mark believes Jesus will protect them. He curses the lions and they are torn asunder. After seeing this marvel, Aristobulus and the elder Barnabas become believers.
In another story, Mark encounters worshippers of the moon in Azotus praying to an olive tree. Mark tells them that he can make the tree fall at his words but if their god can raise it up again, he will follow their god instead. Mark prays and a voice from the moon declares that he is not a god but a servant of God and that they should worship the true God; then the tree falls. Angered, the moon worshippers seize Mark and bring him to the Jews of the city who cast him into prison. There he has a vision of Peter being delivered from prison (as in Acts 12:6–11) and he wakes to find the doors open and the jailers asleep.
Life Mark finishes with miscellaneous information about its subject: Mark was one of the 70, he was among servants who poured out water at the wedding in Cana, carried water into the house of Simon the Cyrenian at the Last Supper, and hosted the apostles in the house where they hid after the crucifixion. Mark preached with Peter and journeyed with him to Rome. Fifteen years after Jesus’ ascension, Peter sends Mark to Alexandria.
Named Historical Figures and Characters: Aristobulus (father of Mark), Augustus, Barnabas, Barnabas (uncle of Mark), Beelzebub, Mark (evangelist), Mary (mother of John Mark), Peter (apostle), Simon (of Cyrene).
Geographical Locations: Alexandria, Azotus, Bethany, Cana, Cyrene, Galilee, Jerusalem, Pentapolis, Rome.
2. RESOURCES
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Arabic
3.1.1.1 History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria 2.1
Evetts, Basil Thomas Alfred, ed. History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria. PO 1.2. Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1907 (Arabic text and English translation, pp. 135–44).
3.1.1.2 Independent Arabic Text
3.1.1.2.1 Arabic Script
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, ancien fonds arabe 139, pp. 15–17 (information from Bargès; incomplete and uncomfirmed)
3.1.1.2.2 Garšūnī
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, syr. 237, fols. 1r–9r (1553)
Bargès, Jean J. L., trans. Homélie sur St Marc, apôtre et évangéliste par Anba Sévère, évêque de Nestéraweh. Paris: Leroux, 1877 (edition and translation based on BNF and AF arabe 139, pp. 85–101 [Arabic numbering]).
3.1.1.3 Ibn Kabar, Lamp of Darkness 24
Ibn Kabar. The Lamp that Light the Darkness in Clarifying the Service. Translated by William A. Hanna. St. Louis: St. Mary and St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church, 2000 (English translation, pp. 76–78).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.2 French
Bargès, Jean J. L., trans. Homélie sur St Marc, apôtre et évangéliste par Anba Sévère, évêque de Nestéraweh. Paris: Leroux, 1877 (pp. 83–90).
3.3 General Works
Furlong, Dean. The John also Called Mark. Reception and Transformation in Christian Tradition. WUNT II 518. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2020 (pp. 50–53).